Indianapolis Colts select Jonah Laulu in NFL Draft: 4 things to know

Cody Manning

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Indianapolis Colts select Jonah Laulu in NFL Draft: 4 things to know image

The Indianapolis Colts wrapped up their 2024 NFL draft by using the No. 234 slot to select Oklahoma defensive tackle Jonah Laulu.

The athletic defensive tackle prospect will be competing for a depth role on the final 53-man roster this summer. 

Here are four things to know about the addition to the trenches: 

Colts select Jonah Laulu in NFL Draft: 4 things to know

1. Jonah Laulu’s high school career

Laulau attended Centennial High School in Las Vegas, NV. He played on both sides of the ball and earned All-Conference honors. He also played basketball and was a track athlete. 

Per 247Sports, he was a two-star recruit, the 2,582nd-ranked recruit in his class, the 201st-best athlete, and the 17th-best player in Nevada. Laulu committed to play his college career at Hawaii. 

2. Jonah Laulu’s Hawaii career

He redshirted his freshman season but did appear in four games, which was mostly on special teams. He was named the Coach Hank Vasconcellos Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year. As a redshirt freshman, he appeared in 15 games.

Laulu cracked the starting lineup his redshirt sophomore season, starting in seven of nine games. In the following year, he started in 11 of 12 games, which led to him being named to the All-Mountain West Honorable Mention Team and the All-Mountain West Academic Team. 

In his final season at Hawaii, he finished with 34 tackles, eight TFLs, and four sacks.

3. Jonah Laulu’s Oklahoma career

Following Laulu’s redshirt junior year at Hawaii, he entered the transfer portal and landed at Oklahoma. There isn’t a known reason why he decided to transfer but one can speculate it was to help boost his draft stock by playing at a higher level. 

In his first season in Norman, he played in 13 games and made three starts. Because of the pandemic, he did get an extra eligibility season and was able to play in 2023. Similar to the previous year, he appeared in 13 games and made three starts. 

Laulu was named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team. He tallied 11 tackles, three TFLs, and a sack in his final college season. 

4. Jonah Laulu’s RAS

When you look at Laulu’s college career, you might wonder why he was selected in the draft based on his being in college for six years, not having a lot of starts under his belt and the lack of overall production. Then when you look at what he did with his testing at his Pro Day, it is understandable why he was a seventh-round selection and Chris Ballard didn’t want to get into a bidding war in the UDFA process.  

He posted an elite explosion grade with a 36-inch vertical and a 9’10” broad jump. Overall, his 9.62 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) is the 70th best among defensive tackles since 1987. 

As a seventh-round pick, Laulu faces an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster but betting on a defensive tackle with his athletic traits is why he was the final pick of the 2024 NFL draft for the Colts.

Cody Manning

Cody Manning Photo

Cody Manning is a graduate of the University of Tampa’s Sport Management program. He spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Guest and Member Relations Game Day staff where he was a Team Leader and earned Difference Maker of the Year in 2017. During his time with the Bucs, he helped start Blitzalytics, a scouting and analytics media company. After that came to an end, he joined USA Today’s Colts Wire as a contributor in 2021. Outside of football, he is an avid WWE and Batman fan. You can find him on Twitter/X @CodyTalksNFL.